Kirito and Asuna - The Bright Future?
by EverChangingLilies
Summary: Kirito and Asuna settle down together, both in reality and virtual reality. During their past few peaceful years of life, Kirito finds that he can't really forget the past, due to some mysterious hallucinations. Will he be able to forget the future? He also randomly visits a strange room in Aincrad. Why is he being sent there? What are the strange messages?
1. You're What?

10:35 AM

"Ki-Kirito!" I jolt awake from a dreamless sleep. "Wh- what is it?" I see Asuna on top of me, her face full of joy. "Asuna, why are you bouncing me awake at a time like this?"

I see her scramble off of the bed and stand with her arms at her sides, blushing slightly. "And you called me by the wrong name again. Now that we're married, don't you think it's time you learned my real name?"

Asuna sits down next to me on the bed and pats my cheek lightly, "So, you thought you actually logged out, did you?"

I sit up and feel my head and then look around. It's not my room, yet it is… "I forgot to log out?"

Asuna pulls me out of bed and drags me down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Yes, you dummy! and I had to come in here to get you up! I had to make breakfast all by myself again!"

"S-sorry…" I stutter. I look at her face and her beautiful brown eyes are glimmering so much that they might as well explode into glitter. "What're you so happy about?" Asuna blushes and turns away.

She sure is doing a lot of blushing…

10:57 AM

I sit on the kitchen chair and watch her hair swing as she puts some towels away. "Hey…" Asuna puts away the last towel and looks at me, a hint of a grin hidden under her hair. "Yes?" She walks up to the counter and rests her face in her hands.

"Uhm, what are you so smiley about?" I ask, wondering about her overjoyed activity this morning. "I've never seen you put away towels in such a good mood. Not that its bad," I add, remembering how serious and ferocious she was in the days in the Knights of The Blood Oath.

Asuna straightens up and brushes the hair out of her eyes. She winks at me, "You'll know later."

My thoughts stumble. "You're keeping a secret, aren't you? How about you tell me now, rather than later?" Asuna leans in close to me with a secretive smile and wags her finger in beat with her syllables, "No. Can. Do."

I narrow my eyes and try to see past her unbreakable secret-protecting wall. She catches me at it. "You've tried that so many times on me, but I've built my defenses. Yet you, are so vulnerable, the old 'Black Swordsman'"

I groan, "Ah-Su-Nah! That was so long ago, give it up!" Then again, she comes up to my face with the same three finger wags. "No. Can. Do" I throw up my hands in exaggerated defeat. I turn around and whisper to myself, "My wife, Lightning Sass Asuna."

I feel a sharp slap on my shoulder, and hear the thud of a spatula on skin. "It was 'Flash', not sass." As demonstrated, I think. Spinning around, I wince and put my hand up onto my throbbing shoulder. I give her an off-center grin, "I know." Asuna laughs and goes to put the spatula back.

I'm glad I met her.

11:08 AM

"Asuna! I'm logging out!" I sit on our bed and pull up the menu. My finger hovers over the button that says 'Log Out' and I remember the feeling of dread when it wasn't there.

Asuna's voice startles me out of my emotions, "Okay, I'll log out in about fifteen minutes. I just need to finish cleaning up!"

"Okay." I nod and move my finger to press log out. It's gone. The button is gone. My heart practically bursts and it seems to beat five times faster than normal. I close my eyes and shake my head. I mentally cross my fingers.

Please be there, please be there, please be there, please be there!

I open my eyes and see the Log Out button, in it's spot, normal as ever. It's only a hallucination. Nothing to worry about… I select it, and see a rush of colors fly by.

11:12 AM

I breathe in and out and smell the familiar smells of home, along with the faint scent of burnt toast. I smile to myself and take off my AmuSphere. Asuna was a great cook in SAO, as it really required no real cooking skill. But in real life… well, she's getting better. I place the AmuSphere on my pillow and get up to go into the kitchen. (I'm starving) I reach the door, but stop in my tracks. My breath quickens as I see a note taped to my door, and out of the jumble of words, the first one I see is… Pregnant. I feel like I've been jabbed in the gut by Sugu. I pull the note off the door with shaking hands. I'm not sure if they're shaking from joy or fear.

Dear Kirito,

I am overjoyed to tell you that I am pregnant, that Yui will be an older sister, and you a Father.

Love, Asuna

I rush to Asuna's room and drag my laptop along with me. A vague thought rushes through my mind. She never gets my real name right. I smash open the door and call up Yui. Asuna lies on her bed, still logged in. I turn on the lights and send Asuna an in-game message.

please log out as soon as you can- there is something i want to talk about to you and Yui.

11:26 AM

I sit and wait for a while at her desk, going over all the times Asuna and I talked about starting a family and getting together in real life when we were trapped in Sword Art Online. I never imagined the feeling of the reality of it all as it is now. But, says a little voice in my head, you weren't in reality.

True. But, we escaped, and made that dream real. Married even before my eighteenth birthday, I scoff. Then, it seemed a good idea. I met a really nice girl on the day of the planning to defeat the first floor boss, and we bonded. A while later, got married and moved to a nice cabin in the woods. Then found a little girl there, who turned out to be an immortal object. The weirdest, craziest, and scariest two years of my life.

I stare at the dimmed computer screen and watch my life in my mind. "Hey, Kirito."

I turn and see Asuna sitting up on her bed, holding her AmuSphere. I sigh. "That's not my name…" Asuna gets up from her bed and comes over to me and plants a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose. Something only she would do. She caresses my hand in hers and looks into my eyes. "I know that it's not. But it's the name of the man I fell in love with. And the name of the man I'm going to start a family with."

And from then on, Kirito and Asu-

I then hear a voice from my laptop. "And I'm your beautiful first-adopted, real life daughter." Asuna lunges for the laptop. "Yui, of course you are!" Yui's smile brightens the screen. "Just wait Mama, Papa. There is something better." Yui pulls up a newsletter and clicks on the most popular topic. The headline reads, Yui, an AI made in Sword Art Online, is to be the first tester of the first ever perfected humanoid. She will live with her adopted family from SAO in and out of the game. More on this topic…

Asuna's hands grasp mine tightly and she begins babbling excitedly. "Yui, oh! You're going to live with us, and meet us in real life, and actually be here! Oh this is wonderful…" Her voice gradually fades away into the background in my mind, and I think of all the crazy things happening.

Asuna and I getting married. Asuna getting pregnant. Yui coming to live with us. I thought that those two years were crazy, but now they seem almost normal. These next years might be closer to first place than those times, but Death Gun and Akihito Kayaba have the win in their tight grasp.

I look at Asuna's excited face. "We should go out. Just you and me. On a peaceful night, before things go crazy." She nods and says goodbye to Yui. "Yeah. Our lives have been crazy ones."

TO BE, OR MAYBE NOT TO BE CONTINUED


	2. A Peaceful Night Out?

Two days later- 5:23 PM

Sauna takes my hand and leads me over to the fountain. I put my other hand around her waist and watch the water cascade down the layers on the fountain. "This is nice. We should do something like this more often." I look over and see Asuna staring into the distance.

"Yeah," she says, "A whole bunch of dates." She turns and smiles at me, her hair billowing out behind her in the soft wind. The sun begins to set and the calm orange light makes her outline glow.

She grabs both of my hands now and we spin in a circle. I close my eyes and enjoy the faint whistling of the wind in my ears.

5:47 PM

I comb my hand through my hair and puff out my cheeks, sitting down at a two person table at the outdoor cafe. Asuna sits down across from me and hastily picks up a menu and reads through it at light speed. I stretch across the table and peek at the menu. "So, you finally find a menu you like?" She looks up from her menu with furrowed brows.

"Yes, and what do you mean finally? We've only checked two other places." I sit back in my chair and cross my arms behind my head. "Don't you mean twenty? The soup place, that Italian one, the seafood… Oh, and that othe-"

"Okay, okay, we looked for a while. But some exercise is always good." I turn my head and playfully look at her from out of the corner of my eye. "You say that like you have fat to burn."

A sharp ting startles me from my forehead, but I realize Asuna must have reached over and flicked me. She sits with her arms folded, but i can tell she's holding back a smile. "No, _Kirito_ , I'm just trying to make sure our baby is healthy." I open my mouth to correct her, but she already has stared talking. "I know, thats not your real name. But if you're living with me, you're dealing with it."

I smile faintly. "Hand over that menu, miss. You don't want your lovely swordsman to perish, do you?" Asuna laughs and hands me the menu. "I don't want my swordsman being anywhere but near me."

7:13 PM

 _Clatter._ My fork falls onto my plate and I lean back, patting my stomach which is hard as a boulder. The ugly screeching and scraping sounds continue from across from me, but at least I got a good meal. I tilt my head back and look at the sky. It's beautifully orange, with some pink and red. The puffy clouds swirl out of reach, and I search them for shapes while I wait for Asuna to be done.

Asuna stuffs her fourth butter slathered croissant into her mouth. I laugh to myself. She looks up at me, butter dripping down her chin, dribbling onto her light pink cashmere sweater. "Wha?" Wha ah oo affink aht?" She swallows and wipes her chin with her hand. "What are you laughing at?" I shake my head a little and kick my feet up onto a little bar under the table. "Nothing. Just something I thought of. Go ahead and finish eating."

She goes straight back to shoveling food into her mouth and I lean my head back again. The sky is now a color of deep red. No. Wait.

The clouds vanish and a honeycomb pattern appears as the sky's natural color bleeds out into a crimson red. My stomach feels like lead and I jolt in my seat. Just as a deep almost non-color blackness starts to seep into the world from in between the honeycomb tiles, I overbalance and my chair falls backward on to the concrete.

?

"Kirito! Wake up!" I feel a pair of hands grab me by the shoulders and I grunt, but I keep my eyes tightly shut. I know that it can't be real. I'm in reality right now.. Or am I? That can't happen again… "Kirito! Are you all right!" I try to respond, but all that comes out is a low moan.

"Miss, please stay at least three feet away from Mr. Kirigaya's bed. You could cause him some discomfort," says a raspy female voice. I decide to open one of my eyes just a bit, and I see Asuna sitting on a chair backwards near the wall facing me. I try to smile for Asuna, but I only manage a weak one. I let my one open eye fall closed from the fluorescent light, as a comforting velvety darkness surrounds me.

9:21 PM

"…you and Mr. Kirigaya were part of the Sword Art Online incident, am I correct?" It sounds as if the questioning I am just now beginning to hear has been going on for a long time. Asuna answers in an almost droning voice. As if she's heard this question a million times. Which I'm sure we both have.

"Yes."

"And the VR GGO murder case?"

"Yes, but just him that time, mostly."

"All right then Miss. I must ask you both to report here any time you have any severe head pain. And please avoid dangerous activities that are known for serious head injuries. Mr. Kirigaya should be ready to be discharged in the morning."

Asuna answers again, but this time with a little more attention. "Yes, Ma'am." I hear the quick click clopping of heals on tile and open my eyes. I raise my head and squint through the bright light. "Asuna…" I see Asuna's face flush and her smile brighten ten watts brighter. She rushes to my bedside. "Kiri-Kazuto! Oh, thank goodness you woke up!"

I smile and weakly run my hand through my hair. "So, you finally called me by my real name." Asuna's smile falters and she puts on a face that tells me she's thinking back over her sentence. She then shrugs and puts her smile back on, "I guess I did." I prop myself up on my elbows and plant a kiss on her forehead. I smirk, "About time."

I feel a sharp tingling on my arm and look down. A red spot begins to appear and I hiss a light swear. It seems my body must be intent on repairing whatever happened to my head. "I'm in the hospital! You're supposed to be giving me balloons and chocolates, not slapping me!" Asuna touches my cheek briefly and then kisses the tingling red spot on my arm. "You should get back to sleep." I twirl a strand of her long honey-brown hair around my finger. "You too. I'm sure you've had a longer and more stressful night than me."

Asuna nods and bops my nose. She huddles into a small cushioned chair in the corner of the room. "Goodnight- Mr. Swordsman." I yawn and watch her get comfy in the chair. "Goodnight- Mrs. Lightning Sass." Asuna shifts in her chair and looks over at me from one eye. "It was Flash." I hear her whisper. Then not long after her breathing falls into the rhythmic beat of sleep. I close my eyes and let the same velvety soft darkness take me to sleep. I think of something some kids used to say in high school- Sleep is like a time machine to breakfast. So not right, yet right.


	3. Discharged For Good?

In The Morning- 7:56 AM

"Ouch!" I protest, as the nurse with the raspy voice (Nurse Akita, as I saw her name tag) rips off the heart rate monitoring sticky pads from my chest. "Can you at least take it a little slower?" Nurse Akita sighs and shakes her head. "Doing it slower will only make it hurt more. Now please let me finish."

I look over to Asuna, who is peering over the Nurse's shoulder and roll my eyes sarcastically, indicating the Nurse. She puts her hand over her mouth and giggles silently. I press my head back in my pillow and take in a deep breath.

As the Nurse pulls off the rest of the pads, I think over what happened with the sky last night. I find two conclusions. Number one, I was hallucinating and I overreacted. Or number two, everyone is right now in virtual reality made to look and function like reality and we're all stuck. I like the sound of number one, because it sounds the most normal and the least like SAO. But then if this isn't reality, what is? Have all our memories been erased?

I feel a last strip of pain and my thoughts are wiped from my head. Nurse Akin steps away, "All right. I'm done. We'll have a pair of clothes sent to you and then you can change and leave. Please be careful on your way back, Miss Yuuki, you can make sure he is safe on his way home, I presume?" Asuna nods and takes my hand. "Yes, ma'am."

11:13 AM

I slam the fridge shut and stuff half of a ham and cheese sandwich in my mouth. It has that 'been in the fridge for a week' taste, but I eat it anyway, eagerly awaiting the multi-course lunch that Asuna is preparing in our house on the 22nd floor.

I rush up the stairs and check in on Asuna, to make sure that she is still logged in and preparing my meal. Walking down the hall, I reach my room and close the door behind me. I pull my window curtains closed and make way to my bed. My AmuSphere is sitting on my bedside table, and as I sit down on my bed I retrieve it and place it on my head. I re-adjust myself on my bed and position my head on my pillow. I close my eyes.

"Link Start!"

I watch the multicolored spheres rush past my eyes and think about how weird it sounds. Just imagine if someone who didn't know about VRMMO's walked into your room and saw you laying on your bed with a weird visor thing on and say, "Link Start!"

"Oh man, that would sound so stupid!" I sit up on my bed and put one hand up on my head as I laugh. But there isn't anyone in the world who doesn't know about VRMMO's. Not after SAO.

 _Ugh. Stop thinking about that._

I'm not sure if it's from thinking about SAO or being in a copy of SAO that brings it on, but it happens. As I think about what happened last night, a giant headache hits me. It's short, maybe ten seconds, but it's strong. I clutch my head and a chocked sound escapes my throat. It passes, but I'm left light headed and I fall back onto my bed.

I take a few deep breaths, and then sit back up. I shake my head and start out of the room. The smell of a magnificent meal draws me in a straight line to the kitchen. I spot Asuna humming as she selects the next items to squeeze into the already huge meal I see before me on the counter. I grab her shoulder and spin her to face me. "What's cookin' good lookin'?"

Asuna laughs lightly and gives me a kiss on the cheek. "Nothing much." I sit down on one of the chairs and watch her prepare more of the meal. "Nothing much, my ass. You're a master chef, at least here. I will never forget that failed homemade ramen. I never knew noodles could actually be that hard after you cooked them!"

"I was hoping that you would forget about that. That was when I had barely any experience."

"What do you mean, barely any experience, you must have gone to at least thirty cooking classes!"

"I went there. That doesn't mean I learned anything." Asuna finishes mincing some Ragout Rabbit, which I gladly provided.

I get up from my chair and walk up next to Asuna and point at the cut up pieces of rabbit on the cutting board. "Remember when I first brought one of those to you?" Asuna nudges me with her elbow. "Yeah. It was a long time ago, but I remember. It was delicious." I grab her hand and squeeze it. Now there is a playful tone in my voice, "That was also the night I saw you-"

"Yeah, I know." Asuna cuts me off. She skillfully twirls her knife and points it at my crotch. "I have mad cutting skills. Don't embarrass me. You don't want to add sausage to the menu, do you?" I instinctively put both my hands over my privates. As if that would give me any protection against her.

"Hey, don't you think that you're an even better chef here than before? Because I doubt that you can make that rabbit taste any better." Asuna raises the knife high over her head and declares with a fancy air, "A challenge, eh? Well, I accept. But I must say I am sorry for the fate of the poor chap who dares go against me."

11:34 AM

Asuna starts vigorously cooking, and within five minutes, give or take, she has the whole meal laid out in front of us. I sit expectantly in my chair and stare, with a watering mouth, at all of the food. Asuna sets a fancy white china plate in front of me, along with a crystalline glass and silverware. She then sits herself down across from me and waves an inviting hand over all the food. "Dig in." I look up at her and see a smile of triumph on her lips. I grab a plate of assorted vegetables and start lobbing them onto my plate.

"Oh, don't think you've won the challenge yet. Just wait until I—" Another headache seizes me, cutting off my sentence. I drop the plate of vegetables and grip my head with both hands. I bar my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut. I moan, and I feel a pair of soft hands on my shoulders. I open my eyes, expecting to see Asuna in front of me, but I only see a message floating in blackness.

'AUTO DISCONNECTION'

Still squinting through the pain, I realize that Asuna's hands have fallen from my shoulders. Before I have any more time to contemplate what else is missing, I see my darkened room around me. I remove my AmuSphere and set it back on my night stand with shaking hands. I curl up into a fetal position and clutch my head, wishing the pain would go away.

As I keep my eyes tightly shut, old memories work their way to flashing in front of my eyelids. My friends dying. The crimson red sky. Sachi dying. Asuna dying. Pale Rider. Death Gun. Laughing Coffin.

All the things buried deep in my mind, put away and never thought about for years, were now all coming back to me at once. It hurt. It hurt so much.

 **Hey! Thanks for reading, If anyone actually did. But as this being my first work on FanFic, I am pretty proud to have 8 story followers. I really like to write, but sometimes I find it hard to find inspiration. I really don't have a specific story line or any complete vision of how this story will end up. So if any of you readers have any ideas or things you would like to see happen in this story, just PM me or leave a review with a suggestion. Thanks again for reading!** ** _-_** _EverChangingLilies_


	4. Why The Town and The Message?

11:41 AM

A rare, hot tear runs down my face. I part my dried and cracked lips and I taste the saltiness of the tear against the bland taste of my mouth. I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to ward off the painful headache, which is still raging at full power. The images and memories still taunting me.

A sudden stream of light distracts me from the pain for a second. I open my eyes just enough to see Asuna standing in my doorway. She sits next to me on the bed and gently strokes my back. Her's is the kind of touch that gives you pleasant shivers throughout your whole body. I uncurl a little at her touch and suck in a shaking breath.

"I was worried something had happened to you. Something even worse than last night." Asuna's voice sounds like a forced calm. It's as if she's afraid that if she sounds afraid we will both fall apart. I attempt to sit up, but I feel like there is an invisible wall three inches above me, and if I hit it I will be bounced back. I reach my hand out and silently wish that Asuna will take it. She picks up my hand and cups it against her cheek.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the headache stops, along with the flurry of memories. I bolt upright and throw my hands in my lap. All the light around me snuffs out and blackness surrounds me like a heavy blanket. And as if a bullet is shot straight at my head, my head jerks back and I am forced onto my back again.

All I can see is black, but then I find my eyes unable to move from a single spot, and I am unable to blink. And then for only a second, a white word flashes in front of me.

YOU

It sparkles and crackles like a group of run away fireworks, but then it disappears as the sparkles die out, and I'm left in that suffocating blackness. I don't know if there was a whole message, or if that was all I needed to see, but I knew something was wrong.

11:46 AM

I try to throw my hands over my face, but find that I can't move. I soon realize that I am still laying on my bed, and have never even left. Maybe my headache made me momentarily blind, but all I wanted- and needed- now was a notepad and a pen. Knowing that I hadn't moved, I rely on Asuna.

"Asuna… I can't move. I can't see either." I hear her voice from somewhere far away, but the words are unintelligible. I cut off her jumble of sounds. "I can't understand you. Just get me a pen and some paper." The mattress rises from beside me, and I know that Asuna has left. I wait for a while in the darkness and soon feel the mattress sink. I feel the texture of rough paper in my hand.

"No. I can't do anything right now. You need to write this word down for me. Got it? Squeeze my hand for yes." Asuna's warm and slender hand takes the paper from mine and then gives it a tight squeeze. "Okay. Now print the letters: Y-O-U. Then leave it on my desk." Asuna squeezes my hand again and I assume she begins writing.

I feel an itch begin on my nose. _Not a good time…_ I manage to raise my hand enough for it to fall hard on my face. I moved! I smile triumphantly to myself. The blackness melts away from around me but is replaced by the navy blue-black of night time.

I sit up, but find myself already standing. I see a simple and small bed with a single person in it. I turn and see a window, so I move over to look out of it. I see street lights and people dressed in familiar but strange clothes. I squint, trying to get a better view of the scenery. A pillar sits in the far off distance and the town scene below.

 _I know that town. But from where?_

I feel another phantom bullet hit my head, and I am knocked back onto the hard wooden floor. The room disappears in a swirl of smoke, and then I find myself laying on the floor next to my bed, Asuna staring at me with wide eyes. She jumps up off of the bed and lands next to me on her knees. "Kirito, are you all right? Can you hear me? Can you see?" I prop myself up on my elbows and then nod at her. I strain my already overused brain for what that place was called.

I lightly gasp in realization. "Aincrad." Asuna pulls my limp self into a hug. "What about that place? What do you mean?" I hug her back and whisper, "Unh-unh. It's nothing for you to worry about. I just was thinking." Asuna lets out a watery chuckle and hugs me tighter. "Well, at least your brain wasn't burnt to toast." I smile and stroke her silky hair. "At least it wasn't burnt like your toast."

Asuna punches my arm playfully and stands up. "You just went through all that and you make a joke about my cooking? You have some nerve, Kirito." I lay down on the floor and stretch. "That's no-" Asuna sits on my chest and puts her finger over my lips. Her hair falls down onto me and brushes my skin. She leans down just inches above my face and moves her finger. "But it is." And then she kisses me. And kisses. And Kisses. I lightly tickle her neck and then move my head to the side of hers. "You better have shut that door tight."

5:34 PM

I turn off the water in the shower and wrap a towel around my waist. I go out into the hallway and shut the bathroom door behind me. "Asuna, is that food from earlier still good?"

"Uhmm… yeah! It's fine, I'll just add some things and touch it up. 6 o'clock sound good?" I move into my room and begin to dry my dripping wet hair with another towel. "Sure!" I call back, "Meet you at the kitchen table!" I go over to my desk and pick up my phone to call up Yui. Seeing as Asuna is going to make even more food to add to the spectacular meal for tonight, we might as well invite Yui over.

"Hello, Papa!"

"Hey, Yui. You're with Sinon Lizbeth and Leafa right now, right?" I set my towel down on the floor- for now.

"Yes. We're heading over to Leafa's apartment."

"Okay. Well, could you come over to meet Asuna and I around six tonight? We have a big dinner planned, so why not have a small family reunion. I heard you went on a lot of quests these past few months."

"Uh-huh. We did. Umm, Papa?"

"Yes?" I sit in the chair by my computer, as I managed to get half dressed during my conversation with Yui.

"Should I bring anything? I learned a new recipe for a special pudding!"

"Well, we already have a lot of food. But if you really want to bring some, just bring a little."

"Okay! I will, Papa! I'll see you at six!" I can hear Yui bouncing around through the phone.

"Okay. See you then. Bye." I hang up and lean back in my chair. These past few days have been crazier than crazy.

5:57 PM

I log in and arrive at my seat at the table, where I was before I was dissconnected. I guess someone was already in my chair, because I was pushed out of my seat and forced to standing back behind the chair. The experience made my stomach churn, but it was over soon enough.

I lean over the chair and find Yui in my place. I ruffle her hair, "Hey, squirt." She looks up at me and uses her hands to keep mine on her head. "Hi, Papa. You were right, there is a lot of food."

"Well, I wouldn't lie to you, would I?" Yui smiles and pulls my hand down farther to her so she can give it a kiss. "I missed you Papa. and Mama." She probably did, after being away that whole time. "You're here now with us, so why miss what you have?" I snag the seat next to Yui, so I can sit next to both her and Asuna.

Yawning, I stretch and bring up my menu. The digital clock says that It's 5:59 PM. I close my menu and peer over the mountains of food on the table and catch Asuna buttering over some corn. "Master Chef! When will this extravagant meal be complete?"

In an instant, Asuna is beside me and shoves an apple in my mouth. "If you're that hungry, eat something that I didn't take so much time to carefully prepare for all of us to eat and wait." I take the apple out of my mouth, after taking a bite of course, and look up at her food battle-worn face. I spot some chocolate frosting on her nose, no doubt from the three-tiered chocolate cake sitting next to me, and reach up my finger and wipe it off. I stick my finger in my mouth. "Mmm… perfection."

Asuna plants a quick kiss on my cheek and rushes back to the kitchen to finally finish preparing the meal. I can hear a smirk in her voice, "It better be, and don't forget the challenge from earlier!" My brain zooms back to earlier today and I remember the Ragout Rabbit Challenge. I take a small bite of the apple that I'm still holding. "Fear not, young maiden, for I fully am dedicated to the challenge awaiting me."

I hear some smacking and mouth-related sounds to my side, and I turn to see Yui already digging in to some banana bread. Gaping, I stare at her. "Ahh-Su-ahh! Why can Yui eat the food and I can't?" Asuna strides over to the table with a platter with piles of buttered corn on the cob. "Because she's a child and needs to eat and grow. You may be childish, but you are a fully grown adult."

Sometimes I forget that I'm an actual adult, but when I think about it, I feel like I should still be fifteen. Carefree, without any worries besides school. I don't ever really think I act childish, I just… am.

I cross my arms and puff out my cheeks. "I am nawt chiwldiwsh." I feel a jab in my side and see that Yui poked me. "You are too, Papa." I look at Yui, with her still youth rounded face and small hands of a child. I playfully shove her head and smile. "Like you can talk!" Yui and Asuna giggle, and I realize that if Asuna has a baby girl, I'll have to deal with three girls in the house. Oh, what fun that'll be.

 **Heyo! Sorry if this chapter seemed a little rushed, I got really into it and just wrote whatever popped up next in my mind. I'll try to move the plot more without rushing it next, but I really hate deleting what I'd already written. I've got a mild idea of how the story is gonna continue, but if any of you readers want anything to happen or any other characters (no crossovers) to show up, let me know and I may work them into the story. Thanks!** _-EverChangingLilies_


	5. Challenge Won?

6:40 PM

"What a meal. That was great, honey." I nod to Asuna, and she looks down and blushes. "I-It was nothing. Really." I swirl my finger in some leftover gravy on my plate and pop it in my mouth. "Oh yeah, by the way, you won the challenge. Good job."

Yui stands up on her chair, "Mommy always wins!" I reach over and poke her in the side. "Is that so? I guess I'll have to prove you wrong!" I whip my head around to Asuna and point my finger at her chest then mine. "You. Me. Duel." Asuna's eyes widen and then become filled with determination. "Now? Another challenge, eh? You've got it going tonight, Kirito." I push my chair away from the table and stand up. "You bet I do. Yui, you come and watch us, okay?"

Yui looks from me and Asuna. She comes up to my side and whispers in my ear, "Mommy always wins!" I grin and tickle her, "You little monster! Just you wait, I will win!"

6:52 PM

I pull out only one of my swords, to make it fair. "Asuna, you ready?" She pulls out her rapier and nods. "You bet!" I open my menu and send Asuna a duel invite. She hits accept almost immediately as it pops up. I turn to the deck railing above me. "Yui, are you watching?" Yui salutes like a little solider. "Yes, Papa!"

I see the duel countdown, and soon the numbers tick to zero. Yui calls from behind me, "Begin!" I charge my sword and start on the aggressive. I take a swipe at Asuna's feet but she jumps my swipe and lands a blow on my upper arm. "Damn." It's been a while, maybe a few weeks, sense I last sword fought.

I rush over and take a swipe at Asuna's hip and make contact. She hesitates from the impact and I take the chance. I dig my shoes into the pine needle covered ground and prepare for a final hit to her thighs. I take in a breath and watch my sword swing in slow motion. Then the world around me goes black. Again, I see a white sparkling word.

 **ARE**

I piece the two words together. You are. I am what? The world around me returns and I see that my sword has fallen from my hands. A duel winner banner hangs above me, it reads: 'Duel winner, Asuna'

I sit up and see Asuna standing and leaning on her rapier. She has a triumphant smirk on her face. I stand up and cross my arms. "Oi, thats not fair, I blacked out." Asuna turns her nose up in the air. "Well, I won, didn't I?" I feel my cheeks grow hot and rub the back of my head. "Ah, yeah. I guess."

7:01 PM

I unequip my sword and head into the kitchen. I take the last remaining dinner roll out of one of the bowls on the table. You are… the unfinished sentence lingers in my mind. _I should write it down._ I take a bite of the roll and rush over to hang out the front doorway. "Asuna! I'm logging out, can you take care of the kitchen?" I hear her over exaggerated sigh and reply, "Yeah, but you have to clean it next time!"

"Fine. See you." I swing back inside and meet Yui in the hallway. She hugs me and steals the last of my roll, stuffing it in her mouth. "I love you, Papa. See you sometime soon!" Smiling, I pat her head, "Yeah, bye." Yui leaves out the front door and I head for my bed.

"Damn, what a day…" I swipe my forehead with the back of my hand. "Urrrgh…" I roll onto my stomach and feel the sheets with my hand. I'm touching something that doesn't exist. I look at my hands and flex my fingers. My hands, even though I can feel them and move them, they really are just data. I shake my head, like clearing an etch-a-sketch. Sometimes just thinking about all the V-tech makes my head hurt.

I sigh. "All-righty then. Log out." I pull up my menu and select log out. A quick flash of memory taunts me before I wake. The first day back in Aincrad, the 'grand opening.' I mentally shiver. I jolt a little after I regain consciousness in my real body, and sit up. The pins and needles in my feet annoy me, but I take off my AmuSphere and start over to my desk all the same.

I spot a pen and grab it up, and then take the piece of paper from earlier today and write down the new word. I stare at the two words, but I have no idea what message is trying to be sent to me. Where even are the words coming from? They seem to be associated with the hallucinations I'd been seeing earlier. I try to make sense of why all of this is happening to me, but it hurts my head too much to think about it.

I reach under my desk and take a piece of paper out and a roll of tape. I scribble a quick message:

I'm going to bed early. Thanks for the food. -Kirito :-)

I add the smiley face, just because I can. I rip a few strips of tape off of the roll and tape the note to the inside of Asuna's door, so she'll see it for sure. I crack my knuckles and head back to my room. As I walk in, my computer's monitor lights up and I read a notification that says that I have a new email.

7:13 PM

I take off my shirt first and then head over to my computer. I click on the notification and the email pops up.

Mr. Kirigaya,

This email was sent to inform you that the AI -Yui- will be arriving at your home on this date: **October 9, 2031** at approx. 3:00 PM. Please be prepared, as regular maintenance will be needed to ensure the operational value of the machine- Yui. Members of a certain observational group will be coming to your residence weekly to go check-ups on the machine- Yui. Thank you for agreeing to this test operation.

Sincerely, Shinji Kayaba

I startle for a moment at the signature, but I relax soon after. I read _Kayaba,_ and immediately thought of Akihiko Kayaba. But no, this is his younger brother, who strives for technological development for the better of society. I decide not to reply, and start to get undressed. I turn off the lights in my room and shut off my computer.

Yawning, I climb into bed and shuffle myself under the covers. My eyelids begin to feel heavier by the second and even though it is only 7:15, I'm fast asleep.

"Huh?" I open my eyes and find myself in the same room as before, the one in Aincrad. I look down at my hands, which are oddly brightly lit considering the night sky outside. I look out the window at the people outside, and realize it's the same as before, only a little different. I hear the sound of sheets moving against sheets and turn around. I see someone sleeping in their bed. I walk closer and notice that I don't cast a shadow onto the bed. I lean close to the persons face, but then the room goes black.

I know what's coming. I feel my body seize up and another word appears before me. Sparkling and crackling like fireworks, is a word, but loner than before.

 **DREAMING**

The darkness bleeds out from around me and I find myself still in the strange room. "Dreaming," I barely breathe the word, but the person I was looking at appeared to have heard me. I see them open their eyes, and they bolt upright. "Who are y-" I hear the beginning of their sentence, but I feel myself be swept away by some sort of wind and then land as If my body was made of lead.

I breathe in and feel my lungs expand. I sit up in my bed and see that I am back in my room. I hug myself and see the surprised person's face in my mind.

"I saw…. Myself?"

 **Hey peeps! Sorry for not posting a new chapter in a while, I went to six flags and had a strict no-electronics day. I also lost some inspiration due to a leak in my tank, but I fixed it and I am currently filling it up to the brim again. And again, sorry for this chapter being so** **short** **! I was just thinking, seeing as Kirito/Kazuto would have been born in 2008, that makes me older than him, and Asuna. I just thought about that recently and it struck me as totally weird! Sorry if the next few updates are slow, because I might get another leak in my inspiration/imagination tank, and I'm also in a musical, so that takes up some of my free time too. I really enjoy writing this, and I hope y'all enjoy reading it. Sayonara!** _-EverChangingLilies_


	6. Who Is He?

6:19 AM

"I saw… Myself?" My stomach clenches and my head pounds from the aftermath of another headache. I swallow the saliva lingering in my mouth. "How could I…?" My reflection in the mirror startles me, as it looks like I did when I was in SAO. I squeeze my eyes tight and ward off the memory.

My eyes stare back at me in the mirror and I loose myself in my thoughts. That original world is long gone, so how could I be there? How could both of me be there? My head pounds even harder and I retreat back to my bed. "But I saw myself. So that means either he is a hallucination of mine… or I'm a hallucination of his!?" No. That's impossible.

I decide to let it go and move over to sit at my computer. I'll deal with those thoughts later. I log in to my account and then begin surfing the web. I click on links about false futures and hallucinations. None of them prove useful, with lots of short stories and fan fictions. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that I wouldn't find anything useful, but I continue to search.

7:56 AM

Nothing. That's what I found. I did get to read some really good Sci-Fi stories, but I didn't find any answers. I rub my eyes with my fists. Well, what was I expecting? I sigh and leave my room to go downstairs into the kitchen.

I set a pan on the stove and spray it down, then start the fire beneath it and move over to the fridge to get some eggs. I turn on the television and wait with the eggs sizzling on the pan.

….. …. …. ….

7:56 PM

"Ah.." I sigh and lock the door to my room. "What a cray-zee day!" I finally got a break, after two weeks non stop of grinding. Two days is all I get, but it feels like heaven that will last forever. I fall back on my bed in the room that I rented and throw my arms over my eyes. I enjoy the peaceful nothingness that is such a rarity for me.

I take off my current clothes and put on the most comfortable outfit I own and get under the silken covers of my bed. I hear the faint and muffled talking of the people still working and walking outside. I can't even remember the last time I could actually get to go to sleep this early. I'd better enjoy it while it lasts. I open a bag sitting on the table right next to my bed and pull out a few mint leaves I saved from a hike in the woods near Coral Village.

If it was a few years ago, I would have said this was an act of defiance, as my breath would smell minty and I could just wet my toothbrush, so I could get out of brushing them. But that was before I knew about dental hygiene. I just like the way that minty things can make the air seem colder while you're actually nice and warm. I don't know if anyone else feels that way, but I just have this strange craving for the minty cold air sometimes.

Snuggled up in my blankets, I take in deep cold breaths from my mouth and enjoy the sensation as I drift off to sleep.

5:43 AM

I hear a creak of the floor boards in my room and feel the hot breath of someone in my face. I then hear a hiss of a word, but I don't know what the voice said. A moment of panic runs through me. Has someone snuck into my room while I was sleeping? No, that's impossible, no one can get through the doors in this Inn.

I decide to open my eyes, just to prove to myself that no one is there. But I'm totally shocked. A man stands in front of me, oddly illuminated despite the grim glow of the few lanterns on the streets outside. I quickly push myself upright, and lock eyes with him. This mysterious man looks vaguely familiar to me.

"Who are you? Why are you in my room?" I begin to ask, but I stop halfway, as the man suddenly disappears, leaving his odd glow hanging in the air for only a few seconds after he's gone. I look frantically around the room, searching for where he might have hidden. He didn't have a crystal on him, and I don't think they can be activated in Inns and such.

But I doubt that he really was real, as I just woke up, and his clothes didn't look anything close to what would exist here, or even what I had seen back home. I shake my head. I really must be groggy early in the morning. I shake off the jitters, as that man really did look like someone I've seen before, if so a lot. I push all of the events that just happened to the back of my mind and grab another mint leaf from the table beside me, trying to re-create the calm and peacefulness from before. I hope I can get back to sleep.

….. …. …. ….

8:13 AM

I blow on my steaming pile of pancakes and eggs, trying to cool them down, even remotely. I swathe a huge chunk of buttermilk pancakes in my favorite maple syrup and plunk it into my mouth as I hear the heavy footsteps of a person just woken tromp down the stairs. I see Asuna, her hair a mess and some of her mascara from the previous day running. I take another mouthful of pancakes. "Morning, sunshine."

I swipe some syrup that has begun to drip down my chin and chug a glass of orange juice. "I made breakfast." Asuna nods and heavily takes a seat next to me. "I see. Hand me a plate please." I grab a big plate, knowing her appetite in the morning - "A whole ten hours without food, I need to make up for what I've missed!" - and pile it up with eggs and pancakes.

"Need your protein and your sweetness." I hand off the plate and then pass her the syrup. She unscrews the whole lid and glops on at least a quarter gallon of syrup on top of her pancakes, and eggs. I watch her, and I can almost see a manic glint in her eye as she stares down the syrup flooded plate. She begins to reach for the whole thing with her hands when I stop her.

"Fork." Asuna's eyes widen for a second and she seems to snap out of her hunger crave. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Fork." She blushes and nods, taking the fork from my hand, and then begins attacking her plate with no mercy. What a woman.

I eat at what must be twenty times slower than her, and when she notices how much she's shoving down, she completely stops and drops her fork on the table. "Uhm. So… anything new with the news?" She jerks her head toward the television, which is now showing a commercial for the newest Smartcar. I shake my head and take another bite of my eggs.

"Nothing really. The most exciting thing was a video of a kid that made the first ever working working car in a medieval-based VRMMO." Asuna nods and tentatively pokes at a raspberry and lemon pancake. "Nothing bad then?" I shake my head, and even though she may seems to be referring to the news, I pick up that she's asking about my headaches, which obviously haven't gone away, plus the hallucinations, which seem to be making them worse.

"No, nothing. Don't worry, the world- and I- are fine." I get another nod in response. "For now," I add under my breath. I think back to what must have been just a week ago, with a happy and worry-free Asuna, a happy and headache-free me, and a lot less surprises. Now I wish I could go back to then and warn myself of what was to come.

….. …. …. ….

 **Oi! Sorry for not posting for a while, I admit I was stalling writing this. Just as I predicted, I almost ran dry of inspiration at the end of chapter five- beginning chapter six. I really couldn't think of a way to really advance, or at least make this chapter a decent length, so I tried writing from a different POV. This chapter kind of seems just like filler to me- more like stalling writing more of the story- like something to post so this fanfic doesn't stop/run dry. I'll try to be more creative with the next chapter, If I ever get up to writing it.**

 **Thanks to all of you who followed my story (11!) and stuck with it so far. (and maybe to the end!)ありがとうございます！** _\- EverChangingLilies_


	7. We're At A Dead End

**Hey, Im hanging up the story here. Im so sorry, but my inspiration has run dry. I know all you few followers have been waiting for this story to continue, but I really can't think, writers block. It s just getting too crazy with school and all that that I don't have time to write a quality story. Im not gonna leave you guys on the cliff hanger though, so Im going to give you guys my idea for the plot and all that...**

 **Main Plot:**

Kirito is actually sleeping (dreaming) in SAO and he has not yet defeated the game. he wakes up after the messages come up to him- WAKE UP. YOU ARE DREAMING. its like he can see the future and knows how to defeat kayaba and the game.

 **Mini Plot:**

a quest for a cloak of invisibility on floor 82. kirito and asuna take it on and fight monsters, kirito dies and asuna revives him. kirito has a run in with some other players and they fight it out in pursuit of the boss that drops the item. kiri wins with asunas help and kiri plays pranks on lis and silica with it. he ends up in the Aincrad world with it and uses it to follow his younger self around and manages a short convo with his younger self (maybe try more in a diff POV)

 **Thank you again- everyone- for staying with me through this short-lived story. I truly am sorry to leave you all here, but feel free to take my unfinished plot Idea and make it your own story. This whole thing was really just some thing that popped up in my mind and I just let flow, but my stream has run out. Maybe one of your guys's streams will pick up my pebbles and pass them on. Thank you all for reading for as long (or short) as this went.**

 _\- EverChangingLilies_

 ** _Plz don't be sad- or mad :)_**


	8. Hello, Goodbye!

Hello, and Good-bye! It has been around 2 years since I've visited this story and I've only come here after a few email notifications. Yes, this story is finished, and no, I will not be continuing the story further. I am no longer interested in this show or the genre. But thank-you for stopping by and viewing my old 7th grade spiel of a story.

Have a nice rest of your day/afternoon/evening!


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